Russia’s Aeroflot Picks Airbus A350s for Long-Haul Flights
26 March 2007 9:03pm
Russian airline Aeroflot will sign a contract within the next few weeks to buy 22 of Airbus’s proposed new long-distance A350 planes instead of Boeing 787s, its chief executive Valery Okulov said on Thursday.
“Our documents for buying the Airbuses are in a fairly high state of readiness. The deal will be done in the next few weeks,” Okulov told reporters. “Yes, we’re signing for 22, and it’s a firm contract.”
He added the delivery of the planes would begin in 2015 under a financial lease agreement. In the meantime, the firm would use Airbus A330s under an operating lease. They will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2008. Russia’s state-owned bank VTB holds a 5 percent stake in Airbus’s parent company EADS.
